An Inviting Letter
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters to J.K Rowling's magnificent Harry Potter books nor do I own any of the characters or aspects of the cartoon X-men: Evolution. The content of this story is not meant to offend anyone and is purely written for your enjoyment.....so please enjoy it! Plus I am aware that December of 2004 hasn't come around yet so a lot of my dialogue might be inaccurate but it just worked out better this way.
1995 was the worst year of my life. My mother died that year. I was only seven years old when my father had ushered me into our family's den to tell me that there had been an accident at my mother's most recent dig site. And that wasn't the only reason, only months prior I had been bitten by a creature my father called a werewolf. And though the two were not related....it felt like somehow they were.
Today was the anniversary of my mother's death. December the 18th, the same day as the accident that took her life. Hogwarts had already sent their students back to their homes for Christmas, and while I hated to leave my father by himself, my three best friends and I had decided to stay at school this Christmas, seeing as we otherwise never got to spend the holiday together.
Groaning miserably I flopped ungracefully out of the bed, my body being tangled in the blood red sheets of my house, Gryffindor, had no defense system as my face smacked onto the sleek wooden floors. "Ouch." I muttered fighting against the sheets before breaking away from the blasted things.
"You have to be the most restless sleeper I know Remus." Came the voice of my friend James Potter, who eyed the battle field that was my bed warily through the specs perched on his nose.
With a shrug I took his offered hand before slipping on my own glasses. My vision wasn't nearly as poor as that of my friend's and I could make it through the day without the wire rimmed tools, however I enjoyed being able to see clearly so I kept them on most of the time.
"You really should get contacts," he told me as I took in the fact that he was fully dressed, and my other two roommates, that were still at the Hogwarts that is, were absent. "You know how Sirius thinks they distract from your eyes." He told me grinning broadly at the sensitive comment, one of the few, which Sirius tended to repeat.
I decided not to comment as I looked at him incredulously. "Why didn't you wake me up if you were all ready to go?" I asked my friends as he ran a hand through his wild, dark brown hair. "And where are the other two anyway?"
As if on cue the door to our dormitory swung open and Sirius Black strolled in, dressed in his muggle clothing as he searched for his robes. It was obvious to me that he had come back from the shower, seeing as his somewhat shaggy black hair was wet and hung in front of his eyes. I was suddenly glad that I kept my hair a little bit shorter than my friends.
Self-consciously running my hand through said hair I risked a glance in James's glasses to see my light brown hair sticking at odd angles on my head. And, as I had never bothered too much with my appearance, it would stay that way.
I groaned as a spec of water hit my face and glared in the direction of Sirius, who had began to shake his head to get rid of some of the excess water. He stopped and grinned sheepishly at the looks he was receiving from James and me.
"Y'know Sirius, it would help if you acted a little less canine and a little more human," James teased his friend, the inside joke referring to Sirius animagius form bringing a smile to my lips. Some of the things they had done for me when they found out about my lycanthropy in our third year surprised me, but none as much as the fact that they had gone to the lengths of being able to shift into a certain animal to help my 'transformations' that occurred on the full moon.
"Impossible," I told them as I searched for my black slacks and a white dress shirt. Slipping the pants on over my boxers and shirt over my bare chest I looked at James, "Sirius shall always remain a scurvy dog." I told them nodding thoughtfully as I looked under my bed for my shoes.
James smiled and shook his head, patting my back he responded; "No more pirate books for you." as a sudden object hit me on the back of my head. I turned to see Sirius grinning smugly at me.
"Your shoe," he explained and I mumbled as I slipped it and the other recently discovered one onto my feet and caught the robe that was tossed my way and put it on without another word. We were going to go shop at Hogsmeade that day, a little bit of Christmas shopping we wanted to do early. The teachers were fine with it as long as we were careful. This break there weren't too many students to keep track of.
Now fully clothed I picked up my tangled heap of sheets into my arms and let them flop onto the bed. Grinning at the other two boys I came up from my crouched position and began to walk, ignoring their half confused stares.
"I showered late last night so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning and I swear I'll brush my teeth after breakfast." I assured their petty curiosities, not glancing back as their footsteps came closer to indicate they were following.
I'm not quite sure if that's why they were staring at me though. Right after Peter, in all of his germ phobia, I was the most cleansing person in our dorm. I had my suspicions correct it seemed as Sirius shook his head.
"No....we were just looking at your lip," he said stopping to cup my chin into his hand in an effort to get a better look at it, "They're redder than usual." He said sounding concerned and I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Sirius to know how red my lips are, he was oddly perceptive like that.
I jerked my head out of his hand. I was only touch feely with family and no matter how close I was to my friends I couldn't help but be uncomfortable touching a lot. My father thinks it's because, as a child, my mother hugged me a great deal, but I'm not quite sure what it was. Maybe because today just wasn't that good of a day.
"What are you talking about?" I asked him when he let go. He rose his eyebrows at me when his hand came back with blood on his fingers. Aww....I get it. "Redder than usual, funny." I told him bitterly.
I looked at James, leaning forward to see in his glasses, there was blood pouring from a cut on my bruised lips and the blood was dwindling down my chin.
"It must have happened when I fell out of bed this morning," I told them with a shrug, it didn't exactly hurt so I didn't dwell on it. Sirius smirked and James looked uncomfortable, probably wondering why I was leaning so close.
"I'm looking at myself in your glasses." I informed him with a laugh as he nodded. Sirius took the openings that I so easily gave him and James.
"You're so vain." He laughed at me and James smirked and began to hum. I glared at him, but it wasn't too intimidating.
"I bet you think this song is about you...you're so vain..." they began to sing rather off key though I knew them both to be very good singers. They probably just enjoyed the weird stares they received from the teachers and seldom scattered students as we entered the Great Hall, though some were directed at me due to my little face paint.
"Shut up." I told the two and they snapped their traps, not quite used to me being so irritable. I wasn't quite sure why I was. I supposed it was simply that it was hard to have fun with my friends when the events of this day ten years prior loomed over me. They didn't know....I had never really told them.
I sat next to our previously absent friend Peter Pettigrew, who had been waiting on us to show up for breakfast. I smirked as I saw my somewhat pudgy friend wipe his fork with a napkin and then run his fingers through his dirty blonde hair...and then wipe his hands with the napkin. I snatched it from his fingers with a laugh, trying my best to lighten up.
"Chill out Peter you're fine." I told him and he nodded, his gaze looking confused for a moment. I sighed, "Go ahead and ask." I told him with my weary permission to question my state of condition.
He nodded, "What the Hell happened to you?" He asked arching an eyebrow, and instead of answering, I simply dropped my fork onto the table. He nodded understanding and I found it strange at how easily my friends understood my weird charades like analogies.
"Yeah," Sirius began noting our conversation, "You know you look kind of like a vampire, all pale and in black with blood on your," I cut him off.
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" I mumbled to my blue eyed friend, not really wanting to talk about what other magical creature I looked like. He got the picture and smirked. "Mail's here!" He announced.
I always found that watching the mail be delivered to Hogwarts, by owl, was magnificent. No matter how many times I saw it the sight never ceased to take my breath away. It wasn't the most beautiful thing in the world, but beauty can be found in the simplest of things, no?
Even today when only four or five owls burst through the windows along with the scattered rays of sunlight I smiled. I was also pleasantly surprised when an owl I had never seen before swooped down to my lap and dropped a somewhat heavy envelope onto it.
I watched the owl sit next to me at the table. Did it want a response? Looking curiously at it I sat the envelope down and reached for my coffee that I had once requested Dumbledore to put on the list, leading what my friends thought was some silly boycott on the pumpkin juice they knew I couldn't stand.
Sirius looked at the letter, than at me, and than shifted his gaze to the owl. He looked up, "Aren't you going to read it?" he asked finally. I shook my head at him and sipped my coffee.
James wrinkled his nose, "You really shouldn't drink that junk Remus. God knows you're addicted to it....not to mention it stunts your growth.....which you could use." He informed me in his mother hen-ish way. I glared at him as he referred to my 5'2 statue and my increasingly thin frame.
After that comment breakfast went on normally, with James and Sirius joking around and Peter squealing about what he wanted to do when we went to Hogsmeade. Yet the moment I decided to reach for the envelope the chatter stopped and all eyes rested on me.
"What is wrong with you people?" I demanded as I snatched up the 'letter' and looked at the cover which simply read, 'To Remus J. Lupin'. So, with and eyebrow arched I opened the flap and pulled out what was a cut out article of the Daily Prophet.
The cut out was small which led me to believe that the article had not received much attention when it was printed, however there was no way of knowing when that was as there was no date. The article though was what caused my shock. It read:
Muggle Finds Cure for Lycanthropy!
In recent studies a muggle scientist by the name of Eric Lensherr reportedly found a cure for Lycanthropy. While many witches and wizards are in shock at how the muggle found about werewolves others say the claims are
false, therefore no research has been put into the case.
And that was all it said. Whoever sent me this article knew that I was a werewolf....but how....and why give it to me? I passed the article to my friends, who huddled around to read it as I pulled out a piece of folded white paper, hoping to get an answer to my question.
Unfolding the paper I read the words of the carefully sprawled ink, not noticing that my friends had begun to read over my shoulder.
Dear Mr. Lupin,
I sent you this article to let you know that the claims were not false and a cure for lycanthropy was found. It has already been tested on my own daughter, whom was once a werewolf. She is now entirely human and entirely safe. When I heard about your case from an informative acquaintance of mine, your situation reminded me of my daughters and I have been trying to reach you ever since. I do not know how you feel about your condition, but I am willing to cure it. Simply go to the following address at 10:00 o'clock, using the key enclosed with the letter. Tonight is your chance to become human. Embrace it.
51216 Lament Drive, London, England.
Sincerely,
Eric Lensherr
I allowed my mouth to drop open as I turned to look at my friends. They looked equally as shocked. And there were at least a million questions racing through my head.
How had he found a cure? Who told him about me? Was it a joke? How did he reach me? What did he want in return? Did he want anything? Did I really want to risk disappointment? I looked at my friends who seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
Finally James broke the silence. "I don't think you should go," he began sounding concerned, "It could be dangerous and I know for a fact that the address in your letter is an old asylum that hasn't been used in years, and only sickos would want to go there. And what if it doesn't work....do you want to risk that disappointment?" he asked.
I folded my hands in my lap and looked at the table. Sipping my coffee I thought it over as Sirius had butted in, in order to add his two cents. Looking up I saw him glare at James and figured that I knew where his stance would be.
"He's a muggle for Christ sakes James! What harm could he do to us? We are allowed to use magic on campus you know....and no one will be any the wiser if we do. They won't no we're off grounds right? Right." He answered smugly, referring to the staff and Ministry, to James death glare and I muttered under my breath, hating that I had struck up a fight between the two good friends,
"Besides," he continued, "This is a chance that Remus can't pass up! I mean...what if it works? It was in the Daily Prophet so it got more attention than those little tricks and what not. Right?" he questioned all of us and I reasoned that he had made a valid point. Well...sort of.
James rolled his eyes, "Sirius!" he tried exasperatingly, "You know they only print garbage! Who are you kidding?" he asked, striking up another little feud between opposing opinions. Peter and I just tuning them out as they rambled on.
"What do you think I should do?" I asked my friend cautiously. He shrugged with a smile. Picking the key up from the table he slapped it into my hand.
"What I think you want to do." He told me, which caused me to smile. Peter had a way of making you realize what you felt. It was something he was good at. Like James was good at taking care of people, and Sirius was good at noticing things that some people over looked.
Looking up at my feuding friends, I decided to break up their increasingly violent argument. "I'm going to do it." I said sternly, not even standing up. And I only had to say it once. They both looked over at me and James sighed.
"Will you come with?" I asked him uncertainly and he nodded. I smiled, it was a long shot sure, but even if it didn't work I wanted to meet this Eric Lensherr man....and maybe hear a little about his daughter. Besides, it gave us a rule to break, and I knew how much my friends loved those.
Jumping up I smirked and began to walk away. Sirius caught my elbow and made a wiping motion at his chin while the other's stood also, figuring that this meant we were leaving for Hogsmeade. I shrugged at him as we began to walk, "Nah," I said, "I think I'll leave it, maybe I'll scare someone."
Sirius pretended to check his imaginary clock, "Not quite time for vampires to be out yet," he consented receiving my elbows in my ribs. Halfway out the door we ran into our headmaster, whom I could've sworn was just up at the teacher's table.
"Oh you're leaving already?" He asked as we nodded. He smiled, "Be careful then." He told us, the usual twinkle in his eye, though it was more directed at me. I wondered, did he know?
"And Mr. Lupin." He called over his shoulders and we all froze, almost certain he had somehow overheard our conversation or read our minds. But we all let out a relieved breath when he simply said, "Get that lip looked at." And we nodded....and we left.
Suddenly Sirius broke in, "Weren't you supposed to brush you teeth?" he asked and I slapped a hand to my forehead knowing full well I would feel disgusting all day if I didn't do so.
"Damnit!" I cursed and turned on my heel, running back up to the lavatories. Surprised that my friends were coming along, though over the years I had found, that if they thought I needed them they would be there. And I was going to need them tonight. That much was certain.
DigitalAngel4U: Do you like it, love it, totally hate where it's going? Let me know what you think...trust me I could always use the improvement. Also I wasn't sure about where to put it because I wasn't sure if X- men: Evolution fans would like Harry Potter and visa-versa....but eh? Who knows. Please review!